Laurent Martel

The heir cognac house Martell about the history of the sale of the company and its prospects.

“If Jean Martell, founder of the world’s oldest cognac house Martell, could for a moment to look into the future, in the twenty-first century. “would the authors of the booklet Martell. If this really happened, the founder of the famous cognac house probably would have been surprised to learn that now his firm is owned by a company from the country, which in the time of Jean Martel did not yet exist. Indeed, for one of the largest and oldest French cognac houses have come hard times. Founded in 1715 he 274 years maintained their independence, while in 1989 it was purchased by an international company of canadian origin Seagram. And last year have been three significant Martell developments: announced his retirement, the President of the cognac house Patrick Martel, began a large global advertising campaign of Martell cognac and at the end of the year, we announced the sale of a number of brands Seagram, including Martell, international company Pernod Ricard. On the current status of the company and its perspectives on the global and Russian markets “Vedomosti” says the heir cognac house, the eldest son of Patrick Martel – Laurent.

– Tell us about your family and the management structure of the cognac house Martell.

– Our house is a global organization, which is engaged in manufacturing and marketing of Martell cognac. I am responsible for the promotion, creation and implementation of advertising campaigns. I work in this business for 11 years. My younger brother Michel works in Singapore and is responsible for the Asian market. I am 34 years old, and Michel – 29. Our father Patrick Martel was President of the cognac house Martell, but in July of last year retired. My father is a member of the Board of Directors Martell and approves all major decisions.

– Who’s the President of the cognac house now? – We can say that the father is still the President of the company, but now the company is restructuring, while Affairs led by Vice-President John Bilello and responsible for the production of Robert Useri. On a quarterly basis we provide records of the Seagram company.

– Why did you decide to join Seagram and what it gave you, and what they lose? Some critics say that since then, the quality of Martell cognac decreased.

We joined Seagram in 1989 and have been working together for almost 12 years. As for me, I started to work in New Zealand, then worked in Australia, in America. Worked first as a sales organization and advertising in duty free shops. Then focused on the strategy of promotion of our brand in North America and have been doing this since 1997 as to the quality, we try to maintain our traditions, and they remain unchanged for centuries. ‘t changed blending technology, our sommelier is also a family affair, working with us for three generations. To join Seagram us forced the situation on the market. Our competitors are constantly growing, we felt that we are behind them. To accelerate growth we need to have a powerful distribution system worldwide, and you can get it was, only teaming up with a major international Corporation. Of course, the family had a lot of doubts about whether to take this step. Possible danger of this Union was the fact that the brand was “lost” among others, owned by Seagram. Another disadvantage is that we as a family are losing the ability to manage their own enterprise. But after these years we can say that we got along very well with Seagram. Our company is the result of combining received wide distribution network around the world and the rapid growth of sales. Guide Seagram respects our traditions, and this is the main thing that we have. – Not insulting you personally? You are the eldest son, would become President of the family business and now different people decide the fate of the cognac house Martell. Last year, for example, Seagram decided to sell Martell international French alcoholic beverage company Pernod Ricard origin. – (He sighs.) The business world is changing very quickly. Personally, I believe that we are witnessing the process of absorption of small companies and large. However, I plan to still sooner or later become President of our cognac house, because I am everything to do with Martell, deeply personally. Family is my life. In our history, sometimes all the UPS and downs. I’m not going to give up and will fight for the post of President of the company Martell.